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London Marathon 2014: Haile Gebrselassie's guide to the course | London Marathon 2014: Haile Gebrselassie's guide to the course |
(about 4 hours later) | |
A 3-4 miles | A 3-4 miles |
The start of the race is about relaxing and conserving energy by not going too fast. In my first marathon, my body was saying: 'Why are you running so slow, you have to go faster?' but the London Marathon is a very fast course, particularly in the downhill third and fourth miles, so it can be difficult to control your speed | |
B 6.5 miles | B 6.5 miles |
Just after six miles, the competitors loop round the Cutty Sark, the noisiest part of the course. The sound is deafening. Marathon runners mark major points in the race in kilometres and we will be running the first 10km [6.2 miles] between 28min 50sec and 29min | |
C 12-13 miles | C 12-13 miles |
This is the halfway stage and when the runners go over Tower Bridge. At 20km [12.4 miles] I expect the elite runners to be up with me. My pace will be as even as possible to help the athletes run faster times | |
D 18 miles | D 18 miles |
For me the marathon starts at 30km [18.75 miles], which is near the 771ft tower, One Canada Square. Here is the point where I drop out and the athletes who are in good form and good shape are likely to attack. A well-timed 2km burst can see a runner destroy his rivals | |
E 21.75 miles | E 21.75 miles |
When I ran my first London Marathon in 2002, it went perfectly until this point. Then the pain started and by 38km [23.6 miles] I could not move. If Mo Farah is with the leaders at that point he will be very tough to beat because of his particularly excellent sprint finish |
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